Once Slam planted the flag for techno in Glasgow at the start of the ‘90s, the Scottish city’s musical destiny was changed forever. Fostering many a great talent with their Soma imprint, Lars Sandberg – aka Funk D’Void, aka Francois Dubois – remains one of the brightest that they have uncovered. Breaking through on the legendary duo’s label in 1995, he forged a sound that combined techno beats and percussion with soaring melodies and chords to scintillating effect. Continuing to impress with his own Outpost Recordings, this new double mix CD for the acclaimed Balance series sees this enduring talent follow on from his previous compilations for Cocoon and Soma.

“My inspiration for Balance 22 stems from listening to the “Back To Mine” compilation series of the previous decade” he reveals. “A particular memory was imprinted on me from a long car journey back from the beach with friends when we listened to one of the releases without speaking for two hours, completely lost in the whole magic of the day together.” In keeping with the timeless nature of that series and other inspiring mix CDs, he was keen both to clearly mark his own stamp on the compilation and to avoid disposability and transience in its content. “I didn’t want too many of the latest hottest tracks in the mix, so I basically made a selection of moments that have had the biggest impact on me and attempted to weave them into a cohesive structure that might connect on the same level that I had experienced them. Every track has been edited by me so I wasn’t held back by overlong arrangements built for the club, opting instead for the immediate impact that could still be attained as one body of work.”

Disc 1 gets down to serious business with no delay, Sandberg’s way with atmospherics and groove immediately brought to the fore in his remix of Hawkinson’s Introduction. This first set focuses squarely on the myriad flavours of techno and deeper house that permeate a typical Funk D’Void set, with melody served up in a subtle fashion amidst throbbing, inviting rhythms. It’s techno for the heart, head and soul as well as the body – the way its pioneers intended it. Indeed, nods to Detroit come early on through Monty Luke and Underground Resistance mainstays Los Hermanos, those gentle melodies soon building to the unbridled euphoria and old skool breaks of Chris Malinchak’s Razor. He plays with the listener’s emotion across the mix, weaving between dark and joyful, taking things deep with plodding analog basslines and an exclusive cut from rising name Arkist.

John Tejada’s re-rub of Soy Mustafa’s ‘Return Of The Annunaki’ tingles the spine before we head deeper into hypnotic territories courtesy of Moodymanc and Exercise One & Mathew Jonson. Out of the murky depths of the mid-section rise the splashy disco hi-hats and filtered loops of Sam Matters’ hazy Weight Off My Mind and some ethereal beauty from Chymera. Pezzner’s Only With Your Eyes injects some organic instrumentation as a contrast to the electronic textures of the rest of the disc, and Sandberg’s edit of Vince Watson’s A Very Different World brings those sumptuous melodies back to fore as we reach this first disc’s climate. Tony Lionni’s sublime Loving You guides us to a heady crescendo with its bold lead lines and chords, before our host finishes off with an exclusive rolling funk-fuelled remix of his classic Diabla by Ireland’s ever-impressive Psycatron.

The second disc of this stunning selection pulls at that glistening, euphoric thread that teases throughout the first disc and lets it run rampant over a beautiful selection of slo-mo, sun-licked tracks that make for a masterful sunset or sunrise set. Kolombo’s Waiting For sets the charmed Balearic vocals to work, with Italo synth bass and sensual arpeggios resplendent in Lee Webster’s Delve thereafter. We journey through the funk of Lovebirds’ Running Backwards and the sweeping atmospherics of Vince Watson’s epic Celtic Beauty before the tempo suddenly lurches into the prettiest of all dubstep on our DJ’s own exclusive edit of Joash’s Assassin. An exclusive Joris Voorn cut momentarily continues the pacier theme, before Sandberg slips into his Francois Dubois guise to take us into lush deep house territory.

Stunning synth work abounds in Rhythm Maker’s Alles Mainstream, with some Patrice Scott ambience then leading into vintage Rob Acid grit, and next bouncing disco in Soundstream’s Making Love. We have a brilliantly eclectic mix here, all the tracks united by a gentle seductiveness that refrains from ever overpowering. There’s room for some more low-slung bassline grooving as we reach the conclusion, Dennis DeSantis’ wonderfully subtle You Say providing a delectable parting shot which again underlines Funk D’Void’s love of tangible emotion in house and techno music.

Funk D’Void has clearly stamped his identity on the Balance series here, deftly displaying the two distinct ends of his musical spectrum of which he effortlessly finds the happy medium. “Making such a contribution to such a revered physical CD series I felt that I had to offer something that would transcend the constraints of some of the fickle, fashionable sounds of today’s electronic music scene and record something that would be hopefully still be as welcoming as seeing an old friend over the years upon repeated listens. If some of these sounds reach you in the way they have stayed with me, then my purpose in compiling them has been fulfilled.”

An artist who releases house music with the melody and delicateness that many have likened him to the European version of Larry Heard. He presides over his own label [Dial] and releases music on other labels as well. Influenced highly by Chicago house and Detroit techno, in the summer of 2009 Lawrence released his album from [Mule Electronic], which was highly regarded as one of the top albums of 2009 from many media sources.

The third in a series of fragmented audio edits based upon my live DJ set recordings. Each one will attempt to capture the feeling and direction of the night, giving those who were there a reminder of the events they experienced while giving those who were not present a fragmented distortion of what they missed.

Originally recorded live in the ENTER.2 Sake Bar at Space, Ibiza and broadcast live on BBC Radio 1, Thursday, July 12, 2012.

For many DJs, 130 beats per minute isn’t simply a tempo, it’s a state of mind. In the last couple of years, though, 130 BPM has become a meeting point for DJs and producers across the dance-music spectrum, perched midway between dubstep and house. And it’s not just a DMZ for artists from those genres: More and more junglists are also getting in on the action. Enter Japan’s Makoto (Makoto Shimizu), a soulful drum-and-bass producer and long-time affiliate of LTJ Bukem’s Good Looking Records. Like many of his breakbeat brethren, Makoto has been flirting with deep house and dubstep for the past couple of years. Now, on a new EP for Apollo, he turns in three tracks exploring 130 BPM at its most lush.

“Another Generation” wraps luminous synths around the kind of tough, shuffling snares that Scuba’s been turning out lately; the jazzy “Summer Nights” grafts the dreamy affect of atmospheric drum and bass onto the swinging funk of West London broken beat to yield a tune as juicy as an heirloom tomato. The EP’s secret highlight, “Skyline,” is a dizzy swirl of sub bass and arpeggios that feels like dancing on air. The beatless “73,” meanwhile, is a DJ tool in the form of a starlit lullaby.

To celebrate the release, which is out this week, Makoto is giving SPIN readers his “130 BPM Bass Mix,” an exhilarating hour-long session exploring the sweeter, sunnier side of his new favorite tempo. Including tunes from Trevino, Ramadanman/Pearson Sound, Recloose, and Addison Groove, it’s just the thing the remaining days of summer. Sports car and winding coastal highway are optional, but highly recommended. Download it here, and check out the 1980s-inspired video for “Another Generation” below.

Here is Modern Amusement Podcast 02 . . . Just in the nick of time for my gig at Fabric on Saturday hint hint . . . a future me just crawled out of some carbonite dusted himself off and handed me the mix.
As the carbonite freezing process makes speech impossible for several hours he wasn’t able to tell me what’s on the mix so I don’t have a tracklist. . . enjoy 🙂